


Unfamiliar Familiar

by quillpen



Series: The Spirit Morph Saga [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Spirit Morph Saga, Unfamiliar Familiar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2016-01-07
Packaged: 2018-05-06 18:00:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5426435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quillpen/pseuds/quillpen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>" It's my favorite series! It's about this girl named Lisa and she's a witch! - I mean, she doesn't know she's a witch at first, and she has a familiar, which is sorta like this spirit companion that everyone in the world has. And hers is a talking falcon named Archimicarus! Anyways she goes on this quest to find her father after he's kidnapped by the mysterious one-eyed man."</p><p>This is my take on the book series mentioned in Steven Universe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Morning Thief

Lisa awoke with a start, the echoes of her dreams still dancing in her mind, the low rumble of thunder murmured through the quiet house. The house was deathly still; the only sound Lisa could hear was her own heartbeat pounding in her ears. The hairs on her neck tingled when suddenly she heard a crashing sound coming from the kitchen. Lisa got up quietly and quickly pulled her tunic over her head. It was long enough on her that she didn’t need to wear pants with it even though it was tunic meant for much younger children than her eleven-year-old self was. She thought about summoning her familiar, Archimicarus, from his perch but she did not wish to wake him. It might just be her father returning from the mines late.  
Lisa crept downstairs; she could hear sounds of arguing. One voice was her dad’s but the other voice she had never hear before. She tiptoed closer to the kitchen and peered inside. She could only see her dad but she was sure that he was talking to someone. Suddenly, there was a flash of green light and she fell backwards. She let out a soft noise as she landed hard on her behind. Her father’s strong and lightly calloused hand appeared in front of her. She took his hand and he helped her regain her feet.  
“Lisa, what are you doing awake?” Her father, Plinkman, asked in his kind voice that always had a curious echo as if there were ice cracking on a frozen pond.  
“I heard a weird noise coming from the kitchen, do we have a guest?” Lisa asked in her high girlish voice. She was now embarrassed about wearing nothing but a child’s tunic and wondered if she would be able to make a quick escape back up to her bedroom. She wondered if it was one of the miners come for a late lesson, they sometimes got loud without intending to.  
“No, there is no one here except Azazel and me”, her father said sternly. Lisa frowned the voice that she had heard was definitely not Azazel, her father’s familiar. He father’s familiar was a distinguished gyrfalcon that would never have raised his voice in that way at her father. He might to her merlin familiar, but never to her father. She wanted to press the issue but she had learned long ago not to press her father about certain things such as why they had to move around so much. She just hoped that this would not lead to them moving again. She had just started to settle down and make friends here. Instead of arguing with her father, she simply nodded and went back up to her room. She was worried that in the morning her father would tell her to start packing or that they would have to leave everything again.  
Lisa slept fitfully the rest of the night but she woke up with a more positive outlook. Everything was going to be fine; surely, if her father were making them move again he would have had her start packing last night. Lisa got up and got fully dressed in her tunic that was the exact color of a sunset over the mine. The tunic marked that she was a part of the community of miners even though her father taught miners and their children and was not one himself. She pulled on her hose and buckled on her leather belt. She quickly brushed out her short blond hair and went downstairs.  
Archimicarus turned around on his perch when he knew she was fully dressed. He had been hers ever since she was three years old. Everyone’s familiars appeared on their third birthday and no one quite knew why or how the familiar’s selected them. Some believed that the familiar’s were the spirits of ancestors or that they were mystical creatures who possessed animals for their own ends and used people as protection. For the most part they were useful and the most loyal of friends.  
“Why didn’t you wake me up last night?” Archimicarus asked irritably.  
“I didn’t think there was any need to.”  
“What if it was dangerous? Did you even think?” he sputtered as well as he could not having lips. She always suspected that he wished that he had been a mammal.  
“Calm down, it was nothing according to father. I do suspect it was more than he was willing to tell me though.”  
“Plinkman is always determined to keep you in the dark, and I don’t understand why. Azazel will not tell me anything either.” Archimicarus shook his whole body, flew over to her, and perched on her shoulder. Together as they should have been last night, they headed downstairs.  
Her father was not in the kitchen and she couldn’t hear him. She thought that maybe he was still asleep. She went up to his bedroom and lightly knocked on his door. She heard a noise and peeked in. There was a strange figure rifling through her father’s belongings. Lisa froze. Archimicarus launched himself from her shoulder at the thief.


	2. The Mysterious One-Eyed Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lisa and Archimicarus confront the the morning thief.

Time stopped as Lisa’s familiar flew at the intruder with all the fury of a true predatory bird. The intruder lifted one gloved hand and there was a green flash. Archimicarus stopped suddenly in midflight as if he had hit something. He plummeted to the floor. Lisa cried out and ran towards her fallen friend. She fell just before she reached Archimicarus. She stared up at the stranger with rage in her eyes. She wanted to remember what he looked like so that if he got away she could find him. He was a tall man with thick black hair. He had a striking face with sharp features. The most memorable thing though was that he was wearing a green eyepatch with a ruby embedded in it. His one eye was an odd chartreuse color. She felt like she had seen him before even though she could not remember when. He was wearing a hooded cape that was shadow black and a courtly looking outfit the color of fog. He looked very out of place in a setting like the mine.  
“I did not mean for you to get caught up in this,” the man said in a voice that rumbled like an avalanche. Lisa tried to yell out but found her voice as frozen as her body. She had never felt this angry or desperate in her life. He had hurt Archimicarus and she could not reach him. The man gave a shrug and raised an arm. A great horned owl that must be his familiar landed on his arm. The owl only rested on his arm for a moment before taking off and dived at her familiar.  
“No!” The man cried out and the owl barely stopped itself from attacking her friend. A silent rage filled her and she could actually feel herself getting hot from the heat of her anger. The room itself began to shimmer with heat and the man looked at her and raised his hand again. An icy coldness flooded her and she would have shivered had she been capable of any movement.  
“Tell your father that it is time that he had you trained and that I shall return for what is mine.” The owl flew out of the open window and the man followed. That owl had been so strange for familiar it had never talked even once. She continued to lay on the floor for some time. The anger slowly drained out of her and she worried about her familiar. She tried to call out to him but still she remained silent. She would have known if he was truly hurt. If he had died, she would have died too. Their lives were forever connected to each other and if one died so did the other. The fact that she still breathed must surely mean that he did too. Still, she was as scared as she had ever felt. She just wanted to reach him and see if he was okay.   
After a while, she slept and had strange dreams. In her dreams, she stood in her father’s room and in front of her was a boy the same age as her. He had on a strange blue-black feathered cape but otherwise his clothes mirrored hers. He looked at her with concern in his dark nut-brown eyes. His eyes looked identical to the eyes of her familiar, Archimicarus. He tried to say something to her but in the next instance she was in a room that was filled with smoke. She did not feel afraid for she was only a baby. She somehow knew the fire could never harm her. She saw her father’s face appear above and an icy coldness radiated from him. Then she cried out.  
She awoke from her dream to see her father standing in the doorway. For the first time he looked almost afraid. Her father waved his hands and a blue light filled the room. She was free. She sobbed and crawled towards her friend. Archimicarus righted himself and shook his feathers.  
“I’m all right” he assured her, knowing that she would be worried about him, “Are you hurt?” He asked.  
“I’m fine. Father, there was a strange man with one eye who broke into your room. He did something to us and we couldn’t move. Who was he?” Words poured from her mouth in an endless stream. They had been bottled inside her and now she could not stop talking. She felt strange and wanted answers for once. “He said you should train me and that he would be back for what was his. Tell me if you know who he was. He seemed so familiar to me.”  
Her looked at her for a moment silently and then sighed. “I suppose you are getting old enough to know the truth.” He sounded sad but resigned. “There are many things you need to know, some of which I cannot tell you yet. The man who was here wants something that we made together. I have hidden the item away where he will not be able to find it. What it is, you do not need to know, but it is part of the reason why we have moved so often.” Lisa wanted to interrupt him but she knew it was just better to let him talk. “One thing, should you see that man again I want you to run, do not attack him just run away. He will return and this time I do not think I run. You, however, need to go to Jacob’s house. Once I have dealt with him I will tell you everything.”  
“But Father, I can help you. Also, we don’t know when he will be coming back.”  
“He will return soon. Perhaps, even tonight.” Plinkman said before sending her to her room to pack up an overnight bag.


	3. Sneaking Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lisa disobeys her father.

Under heavy protest, Lisa and Archimicarus went to Jacob’s house. Master Jacob Duster was head of the minor’s union and was a pupil of her father. Jacob’s son, Jake, was an annoying yet sometimes-clever coconspirator of Lisa. She brought with her enough for two days and the plan was for her to return after then to pick up more clothes. Lisa, however, was actually planning to sneak back the first chance she got. She knew that she could persuade Jake to help her in this endeavor. Jake’s familiar though would take some persuading, as Kwaveane did not particularly like them, but she knew which fish the osprey liked best. They were harder to find at the mines but they could be got if one knew where to look.  
“Hey Brainy, why did your dad banish you to our house?” Jake asked as a greeting. Jake was an athletic boy with deep bronze skin and short off-black hair. His face was covered with darker patches caused by acne. He was her closest friend in the mining community. It was always hard for her to make friends since she was aware that she might have to leave at any time.  
“Secret stuff,” Lisa told Jake hoping to gain his interest. Jake was aware that were many mysteries surrounding her family but had grown rather bored upon finding out that Lisa had no more idea than anyone else did. He did like to talk to her about all the places she had lived because he dreamed of moving away from the mines someday. “I need your help.”  
“Oh, with what” Jake said already interested but trying not to show it.   
“After dinner, I want to sneak back to my house. I’m going to need your help getting out and tricking your father into thinking that I am still there.” Jake stood still in thought; his face reflected a range of emotions as he thought about the potential ramifications of tricking his father. Jake might tease her about being smart but the truth was he was brilliant but he wanted to appear tough in front of the other miner kids. He also felt way too much pressure to be the best and to be a leader like his father. She knew he would eventually agree to her scheme and that he would do his best to help her. “I promise to tell you everything that happens and about the one eyed man.” She said to sweeten the deal. Master Duster probably had heard about some of it from her father but from what Jake had already said he didn’t know anything that had happened.  
“Alright, I’ll help but you have to tell me about the one eyed man before I help you escape.” Lisa nodded and they shook hands to seal the deal. As they walked around Jake’s house to plot the best ways to sneak out she told Jake everything that happened. She kept the weird dream to herself as well as the feeling of fire to herself afraid that those would just sound crazy. Eventually, they settled that she would sneak out the back door after dinner. He would pretend that the two of them were studying in his room. No matter what happened she would have to come back before too long or his father would discover that she was missing at bedtime. Under heavy protest, they also decided that it would be more convincing if Archimicarus stayed behind as well. Afterwards, the four of them went to a small creek that Lisa knew of and she caught Kwaveane several of the small fish. Kwaveane was fully capable of catching the fish herself but she also liked to receive treats that she did not have to work. Afterwards, Kwaveane promised to help Jake with pretending that she was still there.  
Later that night, she slipped out. She regretted leaving Archimicarus behind but she did not want him to be in danger again. She knew he felt the same way about her but she had to be able to be free to act without him. Besides, she was just going to sneak in and wait a little bit and then come back if nothing happened. She didn’t think the man would come back the same day, but there was only one way to find the answers she wanted since it was clear that her father would tell her nothing. She deserved answers but he had just put her off and sent her away without telling her anything even though he said that she was old enough to know.  
Lisa’s tunic was as black as the setting sun over the mines, which helped her to hide in the shadows of the approaching evening. She covered her golden hair with the hood of her thick purple coat. Which rather detracted from her ability to hid using the color of her tunic but it was beginning to freeze out. She heard a whooshing sound behind her and then something heavy hit her shoulder.


	4. Remember

            Lisa went white hot in fear and anger. She involuntary drew in a breath to scream when she heard her familiar’s voice.

            “Hey, calm down.” He said gingerly touching her face with his head in a gesture that was meant to be conciliatory. “Did you really think that I would let you sneak out on your own to face certain doom at the hands of your father or the one eyed man?” Archimicarus asked querulously. Lisa sighed and gestured for quiet, she didn’t want to draw any more attention. It wasn’t as if the whole town knew she wasn’t supposed to be heading home but she enjoyed the sneaking around and who knew if the one-eyed man was around watching. The two of them went the rest away quietly and they reached her house safely.

            When they reached her house, she noticed that the plain white back door was hanging off its hinges. She pushed on the door until there was enough room for her to enter. Their plain kitchen was a disaster. Food and containers were scattered everywhere. One blue ceramic container of flour was broken upon the floor leaving glass and a trail of footprints on the floor heading further into the house. The footprints were large suggesting a tall man with large feet. Lisa rushed upstairs to look for her father. Even in the short amount of time that she was gone, that mysterious one-eyed man must have returned.

            Her father was nowhere to be found. She ran through all the rooms looking for him only to find more destruction. She ran into his bedroom and saw written on the wall in scorch marks.

**Bring me the locket!**

            Below that, there was a piece of paper pinned to the wall. The note said: _“Bring me the locket that your father stole from me. I have him and he is alive for now… I will be torturing him until either he tells me where it is or you bring it to me. When you have found it bring it to King City and I will find you.”_

            There was no signature on the note but it was clear whom it was from… The One-Eyed Man. She read the note several times hoping to be able to deny what the note said. Lisa thought to herself why couldn’t her father have just given some answers instead of just sending her away. Archimicarus chirruped in her ear her in an attempt to recall her to where she was. She wanted him to go away and to never leave her alone all at once.

            “We should go find the local patrol or tell Master Duster.” Archimicarus sensibly suggested.

            “No, The police will just ask questions I can’t answer and he is already torturing father. Who knows what he would do to father if we tell anyone.” Lisa paused in thought. “No, what we need to do is find out everything we can. Maybe, father left something for me to find.”

            The two of them began to look around her father’s destroyed room for any further evidence. They did even more damage to the room looking than was done by whatever had happened in the room to begin with. There was nothing else for them to find. Her father never spent much time in his bedroom so she didn’t know why the one eyed man had spent so much effort searching it. They moved on to her own room next, just in case her father had left something in there for her to find. There was nothing and it looked like the one eyed man had spared her room of any real trashing. She then went into the small room that her father used as a study and small private classroom.

            The first thing she saw was her father’s chalkboard. In one corner was written the word Remember. To the untrained eye, one might assume that her father had written it there and would have written assignments underneath it. However, Lisa knew that her father had meant this for her as there had been nothing written on the board when she had left and there was no way her father would have had students when he was expecting the one eyed man’s return. What was she to remember she pondered?

            “What do you think it means?” she asked Archimicarus. He gave several high, almost piercing, chirrups as he thought. Archimicarus launched himself to the perch that was set up for bird type familiars and she walked around the room hoping that inspiration would strike. As she did so, her eyes caught one of the few photographs that her father had on display. This one was of her father and several of his friends from when he attended university. She picked up the photograph and really looked it. She wasn’t sure why but it was almost as if the picture called to her, compelling her to look at it. As she looked, she saw her father as he had been, a tall athletic man with thick blond hair and a slight smirk. He was not the type of man one would have thought as being the scholarly type, yet he had become a teacher.

            Standing next to her father was a young woman, who he had been engaged to until something had happened; her father never really gave any details about what had happened. The young woman, whose name was Sarah, had blonde hair as well but her hair was a honey blonde whereas Lisa and her father had golden blonde hair. Sarah was wearing the dark maroon robes of their university like the other people in the picture. What drew Lisa attention, to the point where she missed another important detail, was that Sarah was wearing a necklace with what looked like a locket on it.

            “Archimicarus, look at this.” Lisa asked excitably. She brought the photo over to where he could see it. His sharp raptor vision would be able to pick up the details far better than her own eyes could. He chirruped in surprise. “It’s a locket isn’t it? This could be something or at least point us where we need to go.” Archimicarus was so distracted by her statements that he too missed the other important detail in the picture.

            “But what do you think Remember means?” Archimicarus asked.


End file.
